Manipulation of tissue for surgical repair can be challenging. Nerve tissue is particularly susceptible to damage and care must be taken to handle only the thin outer epineurium to avoid trauma to the internal fascicles. Improper handling can result in poor functional outcomes, extended healing times, pain, neuromas, or other undesirable side-effects.
Standard surgical instruments often utilized for manipulation require grasping or pinching a nerve to place it in position for entubulation or other repairs.
It has been shown that with current procedures and instruments 13 of 15 connector-only nerve repairs performed by inexperienced surgeons are judged to be fair or poor. (Isaacs, J., Journal of Hand Surg Am. 2016 July; 41(7):760-6). While these numbers can be attributed somewhat to the skill of the surgeon, there is clearly a need for a surgical instrument that can capture and manipulate delicate nerve tissue that does not require pinching or other application of force to the tissue, which can contribute to the inferior quality of a repair.